Monday 23 January 2017 15:59, UK
Salford owner Marwan Koukash has called off his feud with the Rugby Football League.
The millionaire racehorse owner attempted to overthrow the governing body last summer after labelling it "not fit for purpose" and went into battle with it after his club were docked six points for breaching the salary cap.
Now he is to adopt a more conciliatory approach, dropping his calls for radical changes to the salary cap, and is also taking a back-seat role with the Red Devils, although he remains committed to funding them.
Koukash will change his previously abrasive relationship with the RFL, insisting he is happy to work with it to make changes he says are needed to improve marketing and the quality of Super League.
"They're not going to be receiving Christmas cards from me but we have to learn to work together," he said. "We both want the sport to progress. We have different views on how we can achieve that but they will hear my views privately.
"I've learnt how to deal with them. In the past I fought very hard for a marquee signing which I still think is good for the sport and I've asked for massive increases in the salary cap but I don't think that would be a good idea to be honest.
"All that will do is inflate the value of the current players. The competition lacks a bit of quality.
"At Salford we have money to spend on the cap but the quality is not out there. We don't have enough quality to go around 12 Super League teams so we need to relax the number of quota places available.
"There are some fantastic young kids from Australia and New Zealand that we could bring in who will not be very expensive but will add value to the competition. That's the way I see the competition getting better."
Of his long-held ambition to own an Australian club, Koukash confirmed he still has an interest in the NRL-owned Newcastle Knights but says he is also talking to another club with a view to forming links with Salford.
"I'm still very keen and I am talking to another club right now," he said.
